α-Glucosidase and α-Amylase Inhibitory Activity of Common Constituents from Traditional Chinese Medicine Used for Diabetes Mellitus

AimTo screen α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors from common natural products found in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) usually used for diabetes mellitus clinically and try to illustrate scientific evidence of those TCMs for diabetes mellitus.Method43 common natural products in TCM for diabetes mellitus were used for assay for α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities in vitro.ResultsMore than 24 and 20 compounds showed obvious α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities respectively. Among them, 10 compounds revealed strong inhibition on both α-glucosidase and α-amylase.ConclusionMore than 40% test compounds possess inhibitory activities on α-glucosidase and/or on α-amylase, partially interpreting the reasons for these TCMs against diabetes mellitus.